“OK,” I said to my daughter as she bent over her afternoon bowl of rice. “What’s going on with you and your friend J.? ” J. is the leader of a group of third-graders at her camp—a position Lucy herself occupied the previous summer. Now she’s the one on the outs. and every day at snack time, she tells me all about it, while I offer the unhelpful advice all summer long.
“She’s fond of giving orders, “Lucy complained. “She’s turning everyone against me. She’s mean. And she’s fat.” “Excuse me,” I said, struggling for calm. “What did you just say?” “She’s fat.” Lucy mumbled (含糊地说). “We’re going upstairs,” I said, my voice cold. “We’re going to discuss this.” And up we went. I’d spent the nine years since her birth getting ready for this day, the day we’d have the conversation about this horrible word. I knew exactly what to say to the girl on the receiving end of the teasing, but in all of my imaginings, it never once occurred to me that my daughter would be the one who used the F word—Fat.
My daughter sat on her bed, and I sat beside her. “How would you feel if someone made fun of you for something that wasn’t your fault?” I began. “She could stop eating so much,” Lucy mumbled, mouthing the simple advice a thousand doctors have given overweight women for years.
“It’s not always that easy,” I said. “Everyone’s different in terms of how they treat food.” Lucy looked at me, waiting for me to go on. I opened my mouth, then closed it. Should I tell her that, in teasing a woman’s weight, she’s joined the long tradition of critics? Should I tell her I didn’t cry when someone posted my picture and commented, “I’m sorry, but aren’t authors who write books marketed to young women supposed to be pretty?”
Does she need to know, now, that life isn’t fair? I feel her eyes on me, waiting for an answer I don’t have. Words are my tools. Stories are my job. It’s possible she’ll remember what I say forever, and I have no idea what to say.
So I tell her the only thing I can come up with that is absolutely true. I say to my daughter, “I love you, and there is nothing you could ever do to make me not love you. But I’m disappointed in you right now. There are plenty of reasons for not liking someone. What she looks like isn’t one of them.”
Lucy nods, tears on her cheeks. “I won’t say that again,” she tells me, and I pull her close, pressing my nose against her hair. As we sit there together, I pray for her to be smart and strong. I pray for her to find friends, work she loves, a partner who loves her. And still, always, I pray that she will never struggle as I’ve struggled, that weight will never be her cross to bear. She may not be able to use the word in our home, but I can use in my head. I pray that she will never get fat.Why does the author want to discuss with Lucy?
A.Because she wants to offer some other helpful advice. |
B.Because she is really shocked at Lucy’s rudeness. |
C.Because she has prepared the conversation for nine years. |
D.Because she decides to tell Lucy a similar story of her own. |
What does the author want to tell her daughter?
A.It is not easy to take the doctors’ advice to eat less. |
B.People shouldn’t complain because life is unfair. |
C.People shouldn’t be blamed for their appearance. |
D.She herself was once laughed at for her appearance. |
It can be inferred from the passage that_______.
A.the author earns a living by writing stories. |
B.the author is a fat but good-looking woman. |
C.the author will stop loving her daughter for what she said. |
D.the author’s daughter agreed with her from the very beginning. |
The author’s attitude towards her daughter can be best described as _______.
A.satisfied and friendly | B.indifferent but patient |
C.loving but strict | D.unsatisfied and angry |
In April 2014, the world’s oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in the Baltic Sea. It had spent 101years lost in the ocean! The message was finally sent to the author’s granddaughter.
A German fisherman named Konrad Fischer found the brown bottle near Kiel, Germany. He said he nearly threw the bottle back into the water after pulling it out of a fishing net. Then he noticed something inside.
The bottle in good condition contained a Danish postcard with two German stamps, dated May 17, 1913. Although dampness had made most of the writing illegible(字迹模糊的), the readable part of the message asked whoever found it to return it to an address in Berlin. It even contained two stamps to pay for postage.
From the address, researchers found that the postcard was written by a man named Richard Platz, who was 20 years old when he wrote the message. While he was hiking on the Baltic coast with a nature appreciation group, he threw the bottle into the sea. Then the researcher began a research for any living relatives of his. Sure enough, they were able to find his 62-year-old grandfather, Angela Erdmann, who still lives in Berlin.
"It was almost unbelievable," Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message, as quoted in The Local. "That was a pretty moving moment. Tears rolled down my face."
Erdmann never knew her grandfather, who died in 1946, but says that the discovery of the bottle has made her want to learn more about him.
The bottle remained on display at the International Maritime Museum Hamburg until May 1. After that, the researchers examined the postcard and tried to figure out the meaning of the rest of the message.
Previously, the oldest message found in a bottle spent nearly 98 years at sea and was discovered in April 2012, according to Guinness World Records.When Konrad picked up the bottle from the sea, __________.
A.he thought it would bring him good luck. |
B.he noticed the postcard inside immediately. |
C.he decided to uncover the secret of the bottle. |
D.he wanted to throw it back into the sea at first. |
Why did Richard Platz throw the bottle with the message into the sea?
A.He expected his grandfather could find the postcard. |
B.He wished the finder would send the postcard to his home. |
C.He believed his postcard would be kept secret at sea forever. |
D.He thought he could make friends with the finder of the bottle. |
What can be the best title for this passage?
A.The finding of a floating bottle at the sea. |
B.A one-century-old letter to a grandfather. |
C.The world’s oldest message in a floating bottle. |
D.The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle. |
A factory tour this summer! Here are some great ones to consider. |
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The Jelly Belly Bean Company Fairfield, CA At this working factory, guests can watch the process of making this famous candy. Have lunch at the Visitor Center Café, where you can order a jelly bean-shaped pizza or hamburger! It is located an hour north of San Francisco. There’s no admission charge for the 40-minute walking tour. Tours are given most days from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, but come during a weekday to see the candy making in process. |
Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Museum Louisville, KY See how each bat is carefully carved out at this family-favorite factory tour. Tour visitors leave with a miniature bat souvenir and personalized bats can be ordered when you arrive and picked up before you leave. Adult tickets are $9. Child tickets are $4. Ages five and under are free. It opens at 9:00 am Mondays through Saturdays. Check the website for specific days and times. |
E-One Fire Truck Factory Ocala, FL Take this walking tour of a plant in Florida and see for yourself the technology and skill required to build these emergency vehicles. Tours are offered Monday to Friday, at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Prices are $8 for adults and $6 for children. Kids under 6 are not permitted on the tour for safety reasons. Reservations are required for all tours. Please call 352-861-3524 to schedule a tour. Firefighters can tour for free! |
Crayola Crayon Company Easton, PA No, this isn’t the actual place where the waxy rainbows are made. But it’s an even-better visitor center where families can not only see how crayons are made, but can explore and use the wide variety of Crayola art tools and products. Kids can use the latest Crayola products to create masterpieces on site. The visitor center is open most days from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. The online calendar shows special hours, themes, and daily activities. Tickets are $9.50 each. |
Which of the following is true about the Jelly Belly Bean Company?
A.Three meals are prepared for you. |
B.It lies to the north of San Francisco. |
C.You have to spend some money visiting it. |
D.It is open every day. |
If a five-year-old boy and his parents visit Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Museum, they have to pay _______.
A.$22 | B.$13 | C.$17 | D.$18 |
The factory tour this summer involves _______.
A.politics, economics, science and culture |
B.diet, sports, traffic and art |
C.history, literature, education and custom |
D.health, invention, astronomy and car |
Wikipedia (维基百科) is a non-profit website funded by donations, started on 15thJanuary, 2001. “Wiki” means “quick” in the Hawaiian language. These days, most people go straight to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia (百科), to look something up. But how reliable is it?
The site attracts 78 million visitors every month, and it is available in more than 270 different languages. It’s one of the most comprehensive (综合的) resources available, and it’s got much more information than an ordinary encyclopedia. The site is updated on a daily basis by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with an Internet connection can look through and edit the contents or add a new page at any time. And you don’t need any formal training.
Of course, there are some controls. Wikipedia has a team of more than 1,500 administrators who check for false information. And main targets for horrible comments (such as politicians) are forbidden to public editing. But with more than 16 million articles to keep an eye on, it isn’t easy. So, while Wikipedia benefits from being constantly updated with information from all over the world, it’s also open to “vandals”(故意捣乱者).
Some of the damage is easy to notice. Someone drew horns and a moustache on Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’ photo. But other things are harder to spot. The most common form of vandalism involves adding tiny items of false information into the biography of a famous person. Unbelievably, some of this misinformation has appeared in newspapers, withThe Daily Mail, The GuardianandThe Independentall having fallen victim to the tricks. For example, in an obituary (讣告) for British comedian Sir Norman Wisdom, one newspaper claimed that he co-wrote Dame Vera Lynn’s wartime song “There’ll be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover”. In fact, he did no such thing.
So if you’re going to use any information from Wikipedia, make sure you double-check it first.What do we know about Wikipedia?
A.It makes profits from its users. |
B.It is run by the Hawaiian government. |
C.It provides a huge amount of information. |
D.It is the most popular website worldwide. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. 78 million people visit Wiki each day |
B.To forbid wrong public editings is quite easy |
C. Formal education is needed to do editing for Wifi |
D.Some people change the information on Wiki just for fun |
The example of Norman Wisdom’s obituary is used to show _________.
A.Wikipedia sometimes contains false information |
B.some newspapers likeThe Guardianare irresponsible |
C.Norman Wisdom is unpopular with some people |
D.Wikipedia affects people’s lives greatly |
What does the author advise readers to do?
A.To look through Wikipedia frequently. |
B.To update Wikipedia on a daily basis. |
C.To turn to other websites for valid information. |
D.To be careful when using the information from Wikipedia. |
Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord. She did it her way.
I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception.
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land. The place was rustic, with no indoor plumbing or heat. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the melody and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk.
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit them every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle(喧闹)of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.
Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio. Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there stunned, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.
Then the radio announcer came on. “Here’s one we haven’t heard in a while,” and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves. “Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower…” The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons Except that ________.
A.it was too cold and quiet |
B.she could only sing one song in the small farm |
C.there was nothing more that could make her excited |
D.the place was rustic, with no indoor plumbing or heat |
From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
A.left the small farm with Lord |
B.passed away four years ago |
C.left for Lord to live her own way |
D.preferred to be with Lord |
What does the underlined phrase refer to?
A.shouted | B.comforted |
C.recalled | D.sighed |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? _______
A.Mom’s music | B.Cherish(珍惜) life |
C.My happy childhood | D.Our small farmhouse |
Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people. Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are excessively concerned with their own appearance and actions. Worrisome thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds: what kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes?
It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must negatively affect people. A person's conception of himself or herself is reflected in the way he or she behaves, and the way a person behaves affects other people's reactions. In general, the way people think about themselves has a profound effect on all areas of their lives.
Shy people, having low self-esteem, are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others. They need reassurance that they are doing "the right thing." Shy people are very sensitive to criticism; they feel it confirms their feelings of inferiority. They also find it difficult to be pleased by compliment with a statement like this one, "You're just saying that to make me feel good. I know it's not true." It is clear that while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful.
Can shyness be completely eliminated, or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determined and patient efforts in building self-confidence. Since shyness goes hand in hand with a lack of self-esteem, it is important for people to accept their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Each one of us is a unique, worthwhile individual, interested in our own personal ways. The better we understand ourselves, the easier it becomes to live up to our full potential. Let's not allow shyness to block our chances for a rich and fulfilling life.The first paragraph is mainly about _______.
A.the cause of shyness |
B.the feeling of shy people |
C.the effect of shyness on people |
D.the question in the minds of shy people |
According to the writer, self-awareness is __________.
A.harmful to people |
B.a healthy quality |
C.the cause of unhappiness |
D.a weak point of shy people |
What is the shy people’s reaction to praise?
A.They are pleased by it |
B.They feel they are worthy of it. |
C.They are very sensitive to it. |
D.They feel it is not true. |
What can learn from the passage that shyness can _______.
A.be overcome with determination |
B.help us to live up to our full development |
C.enable us to understand ourselves better |
D.have nothing to do with lack of self respect |